9 Lake Fisherman To Compete In Bass Tourney

Local angle

LEESBURG — After each day of fighting bass and the elements in the $188,000 BASSMASTER Florida Invitational, Jim Bitter will be able to relax in his own easy chair and sleep in his own bed.

Those are some of the advantages of having a tournament close to home.

But Bitter, who lives in Fruitland Park and is Lake County's only full-time pro on the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society's tournament trail, said he believes those may be the only advantages he will have in the Florida Invitational on the Harris Chain.

The tournament, which begins Wednesday and continues through Friday, will have a full field of 319 anglers, including nine from Lake County.

Joining Bitter among the locals are John Baisden III of Leesburg, Barry Cropp of Eustis, Al Laman of Lady Lake, Bo Powell of Clermont, Tony Roberts of Eustis, Doug Robison of Tavares, Jeff Wetz of Eustis and John Leach of Lady Lake, who entered into the tournament off the standby list when another fisherman dropped out.

Although the other eight fishermen have had plenty of time fishing the Harris Chain recently, Bitter hasn't been as fortunate. Because of his tournament schedule, he spends much of the year traveling the country, going from tournament to tournament. With so much time on the road, he appreciates being able to stay home.

''I haven't spent a lot of time on this water in the last four or five years,'' said Bitter, who won BASS's MegaBucks IV tournament here in 1988 and took home a prize of $108,000. ''Over that course of time, the lakes can change dramatically.

''You lose the home-water advantage very quickly if you don't spend a lot of time on the water. The home advantage, for me, is wiped out.''

The fishing has changed dramatically, not just in the past four or five years, but in the past four or five months. The Harris Chain, once regarded as one of the nation's top bass grounds, has declined dramatically. Some blame chemical spraying to remove vegetation for the decline and say it also is destroying the bass' habitat. But nobody seems to know if that is the only reason.

Because of the decline in fishing, local anglers who now are accustomed to hunting for bass, may have an advantage. They have spent more time adjusting to the decline than the pros, who came in several weeks ago to practice before the lakes went off limits Jan. 8. Everyone was allowed to practice on the lakes Sunday, Monday and today.

''It will be a tough tournament,'' said Laman, who was a top-10 finisher in MegaBucks II. ''Before the cutoff, a lot of people said they weren't going to fish this one because they weren't getting any bites.''

Powell, who also is a full-time pro fisherman but who spends most of his time fishing only in tournaments in the Southeast, said many of the fisherman spent Sunday's first day of practice looking unsuccessfully for bass.

''I noticed there was a lot of boats moving around,'' he said. ''I was on Lake Harris and Little Lake Harris, and there were a lot of boats moving around. It looked like I-4 at rush hour underneath the (State Road 19) bridge (which separates Lake Harris from Little Lake Harris).''

Most of the locals will use a similar strategy for the tournament. Since there aren't many large bass being caught, they are going to go after the limit of seven bass and hope to get a big one in the stringer.

''You always want to get the biggest bites you possibly can,'' said Baisden, who works as a paramedic for the Reedy Creek Fire Department near Disney World. ''In a tournament like this one, you go for as many as you can, and you hope to get the kicker fish, the bigger fish.''

Most are predicting the winning weight for the tournament will be in the 20-to 25-pound range. But Cropp thinks the winning weight will be in the 38-to 40-pound range.

Cropp said recent local tournaments have started yielding larger catches.

''The lakes can do it, but it has been slow,'' Cropp said. ''Recently, there have been some local tournaments where 20, 22 pounds have won them. Before they were winning them with 10 and 12 pounds. It means the fishing may be coming back.''

Cropp has entered this tournament with a positive attitude, both about the fishing and how he will finish.

''I really want to win this thing bad,'' he said. ''I was talking to Paul Elias (a pro from Laurel, Miss.) - I met him a few years ago when I was fishing MegaBucks - and I told him all I wanted to do was make the top 50. And, he said, 'Boy, you'd better change you attitude. Never settle for anything less than wanting to win.' That's the attitude I'm taking now.''

Several of the local fishermen are hoping this tournament could be a springboard to bigger and better things in the world of pro bass fishing.

''You do good in this tournament, maybe you'll pick up a few sponsors,'' Baisden said. ''You have a chance to get some national attention and maybe use this tournament as a steppingstone.''

But, no matter how the locals finish, they should have a good experience fishing with the top pros like Larry Nixon, Rick Clunn, Roland Martin, Elias and Guido Hibdon.

''It's a big opportunity for me, no doubt,'' said Wetz, a former football and baseball player at Eustis High School. ''What other sport is there where an amateur or Joe Blow off the street can compete with the pros on this level? I thought about it. I couldn't play against the Redskins in the Super Bowl, or in the World Series.